Incumbents, Snuffer win board seats

The two most recent serving selectmen and School Committee incumbents prevailed at the polls on a steamy Saturday marked by voter apathy.

The two most recent serving selectmen and the town’s School Committee incumbents prevailed at the polls on a steamy Saturday marked by voter apathy.

Cliff Snuffer, who served a single term as selectman before stepping down two years ago, won a seat back on the board with 38.2 percent of the vote. He edged out incumbent Mike Berry by 17 votes for the honor of top vote-getter. Berry's 37.6 percent, however, was enough to earn him three more years on the board.

The odd man out for the dual openings was Bill Hamilton – a former selectman himself two decades ago. Hamilton's 720 votes was 23.6 percent of the total.

All three School Committee incumbents won reelection: Nancy Gallivan with 27.6 percent, Mike Ryan with 26.3 percent, and Mark Breen with 24.5 percent. At 21.7 percent, John Chris Sheehan missed out on a slot on the board by 109 votes.

Just 11 percent of registered Walpole voters made it out to the polls on Saturday, well below the 25-30 percent average for a town election.

Town Clerk Ron Fucile said he was disappointed in the turnout, blaming the small number mostly on the heat.

Temperatures hovered around 90 degrees for most of the day. This is also the first local ballot since 2008 that didn't feature an override question. Relative to years past, candidate fields were also small.

"When you consolidate it, it comes out to 11 percent," Fucile said.

Snuffer said he was proud of all the work his supporters did in standing out day-by-day with campaign signs.

"From my perspective, we worked hard and results were positive," he said.

Berry said he was happy to be reelected and thanked the voters who came out to show appreciation over the last three years he put in for the town.

As the only incumbent in the race, it could be seen as somewhat surprising that he got beat out for the top spot on the results list.

"I think competition always brings out the best in you," Berry said, thanking Snuffer and Hamilton. "For the most part, I'm just happy to be back on the board."

Snuffer said he efforted to top the ticket and was pleased with the results.

A perennial town candidate, Hamilton said that, at this time, he has no intentions for running for Selectmen again.

After another defeat, he said he hoped his campaign raised awareness about the town’s aquifer as officials are set to propose plans to build a new police station and senior center on top of the water table.

"It was useful for me," Hamilton said about this year’s bid. "I learned a lot. I wish I did better but I didn’t and I accept that."

None of the four School Committee candidates could be reached for comment.

With 231 votes, Helen Howard won a write-in campaign for Library Trustee.